Miss Major
by NoelieG
Summary: After her parents got divorced, and her father remarried, Andrea Farley has grown more and more out of control by the day. When she, along with her stepsister, move to Madison Preparatory School things just get worse, and Miss Walburn tries to convince Major Payne to put Andrea on the squad in the hope of giving the temperamental teen an attitude adjustment. Rated T for language.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1.**

"Ow. OW!" Andrea Farley snapped as Mrs. Lumley, the school nurse, tried to press an ice pack over the bruise forming on her left cheekbone. "Give that to me!" She impatiently snatched the ice pack from the nurse's hands and placing it gently over the darkening bump, where there was also a small scratch.

Mrs. Lumley tisk-tisked and shook her head, "You should have learnt your lesson by now." She mused as she turned away to close the opened first aid cabinet.

Andrea huffed as she lifted the ice pack slightly off of her numbing cheek and pressed it over the same spot again. "I guess I'm still learning." She muttered as a stinging pain shot through her cheek.

"WILL ANDREA FARLEY PLEASE REPORT TO THE PRINCIPAL'S OFFICE?" A gravelly, female voice spoke over the loudspeakers.

_'Here we go.'_ Andrea rolled her eyes and slid off of the plastic-covered recovery bed. The long haired brunette then threw the ice pack on the bed and left the nurse's office, almost crashing into her best friend, Valerie, as she rushed through the doorway.

"Oh shit Andy, your eye!" Valerie practically screamed the moment she saw Andrea, whose hand immediately flung to the bump.

"What?!" Andrea panicked. "Is it bad?!" As they started walking down the hallway she hastily rifled through her beige shoulder bag for a pocket mirror.

"Well," Valerie drawled, "it's worse than the time you got into a fight with Isabelle because she took the last sticky date pudding and slightly better than when Heather started that rumor that you wore a wig." She snorted, unable to contain herself as Andrea checked her reflection.

Upon seeing the slightly purple bruise and drying scratch, Andrea glared at Valerie. "It's not that bad." She remarked. "Don't worry me like that! It's not funny!" She barked as her best friend started to laugh some more.

"Oh, I'm not laughing at that." Valerie wiped a tear from her eye. "I just got a flashback of you smashing that pudding into Izzy's hair." Valerie turned her snicker into a cough as her increasingly irritable friend rolled her eyes and put her mirror back into her bag. "Anyway, who pissed you off this time?"

"Um…" Andrea pursed her lips and looked away slowly as she mumbled something under her breath.

"I'm sorry, what?" Valerie couldn't catch what she had said.

"Kaitlyn." Andrea spoke just loudly enough for her auburn haired friend to hear.

"Huh." Valerie appeared deep in thought. "Your stepsister?"

Andrea furrowed her eyebrows. "How many Kaitlyns do you know?" She asked, seemingly still on edge from the recent clash with her stepsister.

"Well, it was only a matter of time I guess." Said Valerie, trying to hold back a smirk as she spoke.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Andrea practically growled as she narrowed her eyes at Valerie.

"Come on," Valerie scoffed, "this whole 'stepsibling rivalry'," she held her fingers up in air quotes, "it's all a little tired and worn out, don't you think?"

"I didn't fight with Kaitlyn because she's my stepsister." Andrea insisted defensively. "Her busted lip has nothing to do with her mom marrying my dad." She stated quickly, keeping her eyes towards the ground.

"What was it about then?" Valerie asked, genuinely curious as they neared the principal's office.

"Uh…" Andrea hesitated. "Y'know, I really better get going." She let out a short, nervous laugh, avoiding eye contact, and Valerie's question, before pacing towards the office door.

Valerie scrunched her nose in confusion. "Oookay…" She drawled. "Well, good luck." She joked weakly.

Andrea merely waved her best friend goodbye before finally entering the small room to be greeted by the secretary, Ms Wright, as usual.

"Nice to see you again Miss Farley." Ms Wright, a thin, pale woman with long, straight black hair and rectangular rimmed glasses, remarked sarcastically. "This is almost turning into a routine for you, isn't it?"

Andrea smirked. "Nice to see you too." She greeted, just as half-heartedly as she walked towards Ms Wright's desk, situated to the right of the entrance to the principal's office.

"Go straight in." Ms Wright gestured idly to the door behind her desk. "Although you should already know that, shouldn't you?" She peaked condescendingly over the frames of her glasses as she continued to type away.

Andrea let out a dry laugh then scowled at the secretary before opening the door to find Principal Denison, a balding man with a slight moustache, seated and waiting.

"Sit Farley." Denison barked, not bothering to look up from the paperwork scattered on his desk.

"Busy, sir?" Andrea innocently tried to make small talk as she slowly sat down in the leather tub chair.

Denison looked up, evidently not amused, and put his pen down. "Do you want to explain to me why this is your _third _time in here this month?"

Andrea opened and closed her mouth, looking like a fish, as she tried to come up with a suitable explanation. "I… don't know… sir." She pursed her lips and shrugged.

"You don't know…" The Principal huffed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Well, I don't know what to do with you other then give you detention. Or better yet, how about a lengthy suspension?"

Andrea sighed and struggled not to roll her eyes. "Aren't you gonna talk to Kaitlyn as well? I mean, it usually takes more than one person to fight, doesn't it?"

"I actually spoke to Kaitlyn first." Denison responded. "She conceded that she threw a couple of words out that were uncalled for," Andrea furrowed her eyebrows, taken aback from hearing about her stepsister's confession until the Principal continued, "but she claimed you threw the first punch. That was all I needed to hear."

"Are you kidding?!" Andrea snapped. "So, what? I'm only one who's being punished?"

"I gave you a chance to explain yourself. If you're just going to answer me with 'I-don't-knows', then what else can I do? If you want to tell me what Kaitlyn said to make you mad…"

"No." Andrea quickly interrupted, avoiding eye contact like she had with Valerie. "N-no, she didn't say anything that she doesn't normally say at home. It's all a bit of a blur anyway, so..."

Denison looked at his paperwork, which Andrea could now see was her file, and back at her. "This is your last warning. No more of this. You do well with your schoolwork; your grades are okay. You've already been suspended once this month, I don't wanna have to suspend you again." Denison spoke with sincerity in his voice.

"Can I go now?" Asked Andrea in a hushed voice.

The moment Principal Denison nodded she stood up and walked to the door.

"Oh, Miss Farley," Denison spoke up again right before Andrea left, "I've contacted your father about this."

'Shit.' Andrea cringed and closed her eyes as she left the office. Getting into trouble with the Principal was nothing compared to getting into trouble with her father, who happened to be Captain at the Charlotte Police Department.

* * *

When Andrea arrived home, the door seemed to creak at it's loudest as she tried to sneak in.

She slowly closed the door, making sure to not make any noise, only to be happily, and noisily, greeted by her Bernese Mountain dog, Snickers.

"Ssh!" Andrea hushed her hyper pet before rapidly making for the stairs.

"Andrea Marie Farley!" Roared her father from the family dining room before she could get very far. "Get in here."

"Can't." Andrea announced through the hallway to the Captain. "Got a big test tomorrow, dad. Gotta study." She promptly tried to run up the steps again only to be stopped once more.

"Andy!" Her father, Phil, snapped once more.

Andrea took a deep breath and her heart began to pound against her chest. Plucking up the courage, she made her way towards the dining room to find her father seated at head of the table, surrounded by papers.

"Hi, daddy." Andrea greeted innocently.

"Your Principal called." Phil spoke a little too casually. "Told me you got into another fight. This time with Kaitlyn."

"Well… I don't know if you'd call it a fight." Andrea stammered. "It was more of a petty argument, y'know..."

That very moment the front door slammed and in walked Kaitlyn, complete with a black eye and dry blood under her lip. Andrea didn't think her eye would be that bruised.

"Hi Phil." Kaitlyn didn't acknowledge Andrea as she touched her eye and winced, before going into the kitchen and coming back out clutching an icepack.

"Petty argument, huh?" Phil let out a short, dry laugh, but his expression remained irate.

"I'm fine, Phil." Kaitlyn chimed in. "I'm sure my eye will be back to normal within a couple of weeks." The tall blonde touched her eye tenderly and flinched again.

Andrea's jaw dropped; she could tell that Kaitlyn was milking the whole situation.

Phil pinched the bridge of his nose. "I don't know what to do with you anymore Andy."

"I…" Andrea opened and closed her mouth, at a loss for words. She couldn't remember there being a day when she had so little to say.

"You what?" Phil paused and added. "I could ground you for life, I could take everything away from you. Hell, I could do the opposite and give you everything in the world, and you would still be this disobedient brat who feels the world owes them something."

Andrea's throat tightened. "Isn't anyone gonna talk to Kaitlyn about what happened?" She asked aloud. "I'm being practically vilified here."

Phil scoffed. "Don't flatter yourself Andy." He sneered.

"All I did was say a few words," Kaitlyn voice grew an octave higher, "and then she hit me." She seemed to wipe a tear from her eye, though Andrea couldn't see any.

"Are you serious?" Andrea mumbled. "Aren't you overreacting just a little Kaitlyn?"

"Oh, look who's talking." Kaitlyn snapped, giving up her sob story.

"D'you want a _real _black eye bitch…"

"ANDY!" Phil shouted, startling Andrea. "Enough! I've already got enough on my plate right now. I shouldn't have to deal with this shi- I mean rubbish."

That was when Andrea turned her attention to the multiple piles of paper on the dining table.

"What's all this?" She pointed to the documents.

"Have you told them yet?" Janet, Andrea's stepmother, asked Phil excitedly as she appeared from upstairs. "Kaitlyn, your eye!" She screeched when she caught site of her daughter.

"Tell us what?" Andrea interrogated her father before Kaitlyn could speak.

Phil hesitated. "I've been offered a promotion, to be Major." He leaned back in his chair and folded his arms.

"That's great dad." Said Andrea, genuinely happy for Phil, but she was confused as to why he seemed to waver.

"It's in Virginia." Phil announced and the slight smile Andrea had on her face disappeared immediately.

"Virginia?" Andrea echoed. "You- you didn't accept it though? Right?" She looked nervously back and forth between Phil and Janet.

Phil didn't speak, but instead just nodded.

"I start on Tuesday." He eventually said.

"That's only in five days!" Andrea belted.

"I know I didn't leave you much time…" Phil stated before Kaitlyn interrupted.

"It will take time to get used to," she said thoughtfully, "but I've already done it once when I moved here after you and mom married so…"

Andrea glared at Kaitlyn, not believing what she was hearing. "But you lived like 20 minutes away, we're talking moving to a whole new state here."

"We're only moving about three hours away." Phil shrugged and quickly put his hand up to prevent Andrea from speaking. "It doesn't matter anyway. My decision is final. I've already spoken to your principal and I've enrolled both you and Kaitlyn into a new school." He paused. "It's called Madison Preparatory School… It's a boarding school."

"Boarding school!" Andrea and Kaitlyn exclaimed in unison.

"Girls!" Janet disrupted. "I can't believe you two. This is a huge opportunity for your father. Where's your support?"

"So… that's it. We're just gonna move, just like that?" Andrea snapped her fingers. "What about my friends?"

"_Friend._" Kaitlyn murmured under her breath.

Andrea decided to ignore that snide remark and continued. "Did you even take the time to think about this? What about mom?"

"I've already called your mom." Phil answered quickly. "She told me she would be able to visit during the holidays. Your friends could always come visit as well."

Andrea rolled her eyes. "I guess you have it all figured out then." She gradually made her way towards the stairs. "This is bullshit."

"Andy!" Her father yelled to no avail as she left and ran upstairs to her bedroom.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2.**

It was the morning after the Farleys moved into their new house and they were now headed straight for Madison Preparatory School. They had been on the road for almost an hour.

Endless scenery of lush green hills couldn't get rid of the current grudge that Andrea held and couldn't keep her awake after a long night that consisted of moving into a new house and an early morning of packing for a new school.

"So…" Kaitlyn whispered, looking at Andrea with droopy, tired eyes, "how long before you end up getting suspended at this school?" She sneered.

Andrea squinted her eyes at her stepsister, before letting out a short laugh and shaking her head. "How long before I give you another black eye?" She muttered, just quiet enough so her father wouldn't hear, and glanced back out the left-hand side window.

"Don't count on making any new friends if you continue to be, well, _you_." Said Kaitlyn. Andrea didn't even have to look at her stepsibling to see the smirk as she spoke. "I don't need you embarrassing me either."

"Kaitlyn, _I'm tired_, okay?" Andrea's harsh voice unintentionally grew louder as she looked away from the window. "I didn't go to bed until twelve, was forced to get up a three a.m. and I haven't had any breakfast. Can you just get off my nerves and stop being such a bitch?"

"ANDY!" Andrea's shoulders jerked when her father yelled from the driver's seat. "Can you not do this today, please?" He pleaded, causing his daughter to scoff.

"But dad!" Andrea screeched. "Kaitlyn…"

"_Not today_, Andy!" Phil interjected. "This is your first day at your new school, my first day at my new job. I don't need this." He stated.

Andrea groaned and folded her arms. She felt like her father was being one-sided against her.

"Do you know if this school has a decent cheerleading team Phil?" Kaitlyn asked, causing Andrea to roll her eyes.

Before Phil, or Andrea, had a chance to say anything, a few large, almost archetypal, red brick buildings appeared in the distance. A clock tower, that read about a quarter to seven, was situated at the front.

"Here it is." Phil marveled at the sight as he continued up the lengthy driveway. Students sat in groups on the grass in front of the buildings.

_'Uniforms.'_ Andrea cringed at the run of the mill white shirts and navy blue pants or skirts that the students were wearing.

Andrea sighed, and could've sworn she heard a sigh from Kaitlyn as well, as the red Ford Explorer screeched to a halt at the side building under an arch.

Andrea closed her eyes and took another deep breath before taking her seatbelt off and stepping out of the car.

Wearing a black Beatles t-shirt, that had been cut to stop just at her bellybutton, and denim shorts she definitely stood out of place amongst the uniformed students. Kaitlyn, in particular, looked out of place in her hot pink capped-sleeved shirt and white Capri pants.

Phil and Kaitlyn both made their way to the trunk to grab some bags as Andrea stood in front of the school entrance and continued to gaze around at her new school, stretching her strained back as she did.

"Andy, come grab a bag." Phil ordered.

Andrea nodded and, without looking, swiftly turned to her right, only to crash into someone as she did. She almost fell back when she felt two hands lightly grab her shoulders to steady her.

"Woah, sorry." A deep voice muttered quickly and Andrea looked up to see a pair of pale blue eyes. She had bumped into a fair skinned boy with short brown hair. He wore a different uniform to the rest of the school, a dark blue button-up shirt and matching dress pants.

"Sorry." Andrea managed to mutter back under a short, breathless laugh.

The boy smiled, a genuine smile that reached his eyes, as he slowly let Andrea go before he spun on his heel and made his way for the entrance doors, subtly glancing back over at her before going inside. Three other boys, wearing the same uniform, followed behind him.

"I didn't realize there was an ROTC program at this school." Phil watched as the boys entered the building.

"I didn't realize there were boys at this school." Andrea responded while in a daze. Her eyes widened soon after when she realized what she let slip out of her mouth, and her father looked up from the trunk of the car with a blank expression. "I-I mean, let me get that for you dad." She grinned innocently and gestured towards the blue duffle bag in his hands. She grabbed the bag and turned towards the entrance.

After years of going to an all-girls school, finally going to a coeducational school might be a nice change. Or so Andrea thought anyway.

"Couldn't you wear something a little more appropriate by the way?" Phil looked his daughter up and down. "If we hadn't been in such a rush, I would've ordered you to change." He stated as they stepped inside and made their way up a short flight of stairs.

Andrea rolled her eyes and smirked. "Don't worry dad." She replied. "It won't be long before I put on a uniform and look like everyone else here."

Phil shook his head and chose to ignore that remark. "We need go to see the principal." He said as they headed towards another staircase.

"This place looks kinda old." Andrea's voice echoed through the empty hall as she heaved her heavy bag up the steps. "Do you think it's haunted?" She pondered aloud.

"What is wrong with you?" Kaitlyn hissed in a hushed tone.

"Hurry up girls!" Phil demanded as he spotted a sizeable map of the school on a wall.

After circling the school, they finally found the principal's office. Phil opened the door to be welcomed by a secretary seated in front of the door.

"Hi." Phil greeted the drained secretary with a smile only for the grey-haired woman to scowl in return. "Uh, this is Andrea Farley and Kaitlyn," he waved to the girls as he introduced them, "they're here for their first day."

"Principal Phillips is out at the moment," stated the secretary, "I'll have Miss Walburn show the girls to their dorms." She said before picking up the phone.

"At least we don't have to share a room." Andrea remarked, smirking at Kaitlyn.

"Andy…" Phil practically growled. Just as he opened his mouth to say something else the sound of clicking heels drew closer and closer.

"Hi," a woman, looking to be in her early thirties or so, greeted the Farleys, "I'm Emily Walburn, the school councilor." She put her hand out for Phil to shake.

"Nice to meet you." Phil shook her hand. "I'm Phil Farley, these are my daughters Andrea and Kaitlyn." He introduced the girls once more.

'_Daughter_.' Andrea had to refrain from saying. _'You have one daughter, and a menace.'_ She thought. Her arm then grew tired and sore so she dropped her bag carelessly onto the ground with a heavy thud.

"Nice to meet you." Miss Walburn happily greeted the girls. "Are there any questions you girls have, before I show you to your rooms?"

"Do we have to be stuck inside the school grounds all the time?" Andrea inquired. "Like, are we allowed out or are we kept here like prisoners?"

Emily Walburn's welcoming grin almost completely disappeared before she let out a nervous chuckle.

"Andy!" Phil snapped. "I'm sorry." He apologized to the school councilor.

"Oh," Miss Walburn hesitated, "no, that's okay. Lots of kids feel the same way when they first come here."

"Lots of kids know how to keep their mouths shut." Kaitlyn joked under her breath so only Andrea could hear.

"But, to answer your question," Miss Walburn glanced at Andrea, "yes, you _are _allowed out on the weekends. There's even a small shopping district not too far from here, that you can go to by bus." She explained before peaking down at her watch. "We better get going, classes starts soon."

Phil glimpsed at his own watch. "I really should be going as well." He announced.

Kaitlyn pulled Phil in for an awkward, cringe-inducing hug. "Get mom to call me when you get home." She said as she released her stepfather from her clasp.

Miss Walburn slowly started to lead Kaitlyn down the hall as Phil tried to say goodbye to his daughter, who was disinclined to even look him in the eye.

"Bye, Andrea." He said, struggling to get Andrea to look at him.

"Bye." She finally glanced up. "I hope you get stuck in a traffic jam." She quipped, although the vacant expression latent on her face showed that she was not in a joking mood.

Phil gave a hearty chuckle and pulled Andrea into a one-arm hug. "You know I love you." He stated sincerely, kissing her on the forehead.

Andrea pursed her lips into a forced smile. "I know." She sighed.

"Stay out of trouble." Phil let Andrea go and left.

Andrea picked her bag back up and realized Kaitlyn and Miss Walburn were far ahead of her. "Hey, wait up!" She darted to catch up to them.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Thank you to wandertogondor for my first review and to everyone else who has read so far. Enjoy! :)**

* * *

**Chapter 3.**

Miss Walburn led the stepsiblings over to the building with the clock-tower to help the girls to their new dorm rooms.

Andrea's arms had grown so worn-out from carrying her heavy duffle that she was now just barely lugging the luggage below her knees, kicking it carelessly with each small step. She also felt as though if she stopped walking she would fall asleep.

"… I believe they're having tryouts next week." Miss Walburn was explaining to Kaitlyn about the cheerleading squad, while Andrea tried her hardest to refrain from rolling her eyes. "One of your roommates is actually the vice-captain. She should tell you all you need to know."

Andrea didn't think to keep track as they weaved through many hallways and past many doors until Miss Walburn stopped at a door, which had a gold '22' screwed onto it.

"Here's your room Kaitlyn." Miss Walburn announced. "Oh, before I forget, here is your timetable, and here's a map of the school." She pulled a couple sheets of paper off a clipboard she had been holding and handed two each to the girls. "Your uniforms should be in your rooms. After you get changed, you should both go down to the lunchroom and grab some breakfast. I imagine you're both starving."

"Thank you." Said Kaitlyn before she opened the door to her new room and entered.

Miss Walburn and Andrea then continued down the hall.

"So, is there anything you're interested in Andrea?" Miss Walburn inquired. "Any sports…?"

"No," Andrea answered on the spot, "not really."

"Really?" The school councillor's perfectly arched eyebrows knitted. "Nothing? You're not into soccer or volleyball or anything?"

"Nope." Andrea retorted again. "I mean, I like sports, don't get me wrong. But unless you have anything that'll get me out of this place sooner, then I'm not really interested in doing any extracurricular activities..." She looked away from the older woman. "What's the point anyway?" She muttered to herself.

"Y'know," Miss Walburn pursed her lips thoughtfully at the new student, "I wasn't lying when I said that lots of kids felt the same way you do now. But I think you'll find that a lot of them changed their minds about this place." She said. "Boarding school is a big change, I know."

Andrea cocked her eyebrows. "I've had enough big changes." She mumbled.

"Here's your stop." Miss Walburn stopped at door '25'.

"Great." Andrea whispered.

"Listen," Miss Walburn gave Andrea a look of concern, "if you are having any trouble or you just need to chat, just swing by my office. Okay?"

"Sure." Andrea forced a smile and entered her dorm.

Not long after entering, Andrea hastily dropped the heavy bag that she'd been carrying for so long, and massaged her tender arms as she looked around her new quarters.

The walls were covered with posters of Madonna, Michael Jackson, the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Boyz II Men, and there was a bulky stereo, surrounded by CDs, on top of a chest of drawers situated in the left corner on the farthest side of the room.

Three bunk beds took up the room, two situated near the door and one near the window; six beds altogether.

"Five roommates." She said under hear breath. "This should be interesting."

As a yawn crept from her mouth, Andrea spotted her uniform, folded up neatly on the bottom bunk near the window. She made her way for the bed only to catch a glimpse of herself in the long mirror that was leaning against the bed.

"My god." She groaned under her breath as she scrutinized her reflection. "I look like death." Her eyeliner had bled and smudged into the fine lines under her brown eyes, which only helped in accentuating the dark circles, and her lips were pale and dry.

As she always found herself doing whenever she looked into a mirror, Andrea also pored over her dark, slightly bushy eyebrows that she'd all but given up on trying to tame. Of all the things to do so, they made her feel a little home sick as they reminded of her mother, who'd always tried to convince Andrea that her eyebrows gave her face character and that they 'showed her Italian side'.

Exhausted from a long morning, she collapsed onto the bed, placing her arms over her eyes to block out the sunlight. _'Counting down the days 'til graduation.'_

She took in a couple of deep breaths and could've sworn that she'd fallen into a micro-sleep when she heard a shrill male voice yelling from outside.

Mastering the energy, she sat up and peeked out the window to see a group of boys, in green combat dress, running laps around a green field. A taller man stood barking orders from the middle of the field.

Just as she was about to stand up to get changed into her uniform, the door opened to reveal three girls, who all rushed in only to stop the instant they saw Andrea.

A dark skinned girl with black curls that cascaded down to her waist was the first to step in. Behind her, a girl with an olive complexion and honey blonde hair entered the room and sat on the bottom bunk bed to the left hand side of the door, and lastly a petite girl with sun-kissed skin and her straight brown hair had been cut into a bob.

"You must be the new girl." Said the first girl happily.

"I must be." Andrea sighed, as she remained seated. "I'm Andrea." She introduced herself.

"Well, I'm Josephine." Said the black girl. "Or people always end up calling me Josie. It's up to you."

"Uh, I guess you can call me Andy, if you want to." Andrea replied. "I don't really care."

"This is Grace." Josephine pointed to the girl with honey blonde hair, who beamed at Andrea. "And that's Sydney." The petite girl waved.

"Hi." Andrea waved back at Sydney and stood up. "Uh," she hesitated as she looked at her uniform, "I don't wanna be rude or anything, but, uh, I have to get dressed so…" she gestured towards the door and recoiled.

"Oh," Grace just about sprung up off the bed, "I hear ya." She walked towards the door.

"Say no more." Said Josephine. "Come down and have some breakfast, when you're ready."

"Yeah, come meet the other girls." Sydney insisted. "They're already downstairs in the lunchroom."

The moment Sydney finished speaking, a loud grumble blared from Andrea's stomach, causing her new roommates to chuckle. "Will do. Thanks." She chuckled nervously as she felt her pale cheeks flush.

Her new roommates immediately left for breakfast, allowing her to get dressed.

Before getting dressed, Andrea rummaged thoroughly through her bag and pulled out a black eyeliner pencil, a concealer and a tube of clear lip-gloss.

Going back to the mirror, she cleaned up any smudges from her eyeliner and relined the waterline. She then concealed her dark circles as much as she could and lastly dabbed some lip-gloss onto her lips, just to give them a bit of much needed moisture.

After a moment of grimacing at her new uniform, Andrea then finally got changed.

Once she got dressed, Andrea packed her grey school shoulder bag and headed straight down for breakfast; naturally getting lost along the way.

Starved, but running out of time before the first class, Andrea grabbed two slices of buttered toast and a bowl of oatmeal drizzled in honey. She also poured herself a glass of orange juice and then made her way over to the dining area to find many students sitting, eating and chattering away happily.

She glanced around the room and craned her neck to try to find her new roommates.

Sauntering in the middle of the tables, Kaitlyn was spotted sitting with a couple of girls, who were all staring at Andrea before turning their attention to each other and having a seemingly amusing chat amongst themselves.

"Andy!" Someone yelled from near the back of the room and Andrea looked up to see Josephine waving at her.

Giving Josephine a small but sincere smile, Andrea paced over to sit down.

"Hi." Said Andrea as she sat down at the end of the table, next to Sydney, and spotted two other girls, whom she had never seen before.

"Oh, Andy," Sydney chimed up, "these are your other roommates. That's Charlie," she pointed to a girl with strawberry blonde waves and a dusting of freckles across her nose, "and this is Monique." She gestured to the curvy girl seated next to her, who had her brown highlighted hair tied back into a sleek ponytail.

"Hungry?" Josephine observed as Andrea immediately dug into her oatmeal the minute she sat down.

Without saying a word, Andrea nodded as she swallowed a big spoonful.

"What school did you used to go to?" Asked Charlie.

"Uh, Belle Dox High." Andrea answered. "It's an all girls school in North Carolina." She said before biting into a piece of toast.

"So, when did you move to Virginia?" Josephine inquired as she peeled a mandarin orange.

"Early yesterday. We drove to our new house and I helped my dad with the furniture. Then early this morning we drove straight here." Andrea replied.

"God, no wonder you look so tired." Said Josephine. "What's your first class?"

"Uh…" Andrea fished her crinkled timetable out of her bag and skimmed over it. "Crap." She said, blowing out her cheeks. "Math with Mr Zimmerman."

"Sorry. None of us have that class." Sydney remarked. "I know that Zimmerman's tough though."

"Fantastic." Andrea muttered before letting out a long yawn.

She put her timetable back in her bag as the warning bell rang for the students to start making their way to class.

"What?" Andrea checked her digital watch, which read '8:20', as students around her started rushing out. "I haven't even finished eating yet." She complained as her roommates got up.

"You better hurry Andy." Josephine stated. "Zimmerman's room is in the next building over. I don't think you wanna be late on your first day."

"Right." Andrea half-heartedly agreed and finished her glass of juice as she pushed herself up. She made sure to grab the leftover piece of toast before leaving, garnering amused looks from the girls. "What? I hate to waste food."

As they left the cafeteria, Andrea felt something hard ram into her right shoulder, causing her to drop her toast onto the floor. She glanced around quickly to see Kaitlyn walk past her.

"Dammit." Andrea massaged her shoulder as she practically sulked over her toast.

"Don't worry." Andrea was startled when a random voice spoke from right next to her. She turned to her right to see a girl she remembered seeing at Kaitlyn's table. She had glowing bronze skin and curly blonde hair. "Bread is just empty carbs and sugar. She did you a favour." She remarked, smirking as she looked at Kaitlyn and then back at Andrea.

Andrea pressed her tongue against the wall of her cheek and cocked her eyebrows, glancing back down at her toast as she did.

"Thank you," she said slowly as she turned her attention back to the blonde girl, "for, uh, sharing this latest discovery. I never knew." She joked, sneering for the couple of the seconds that the girl looked away.

Before the girl could say anything, Josephine, realising she'd walked ahead, came back and grabbed Andrea's arm.

"Come on, Andy!" Josephine almost commanded. "You're gonna be late." She gave the blonde girl a quick Cheshire-like grin and pulled Andrea away.

"Who, or what, the hell was that?" Andrea questioned Josephine as they squeezed through the other students on their way to class.

"That's Abbey Skelton. She's the vice-captain of the cheer squad." Josephine clarified, as Andrea's eyebrows gathered. "They're not that big of a deal, but she likes to act like they are."

"Is she always like that? Or is Kaitlyn more influential than I originally thought?" Andrea interrogated.

"No, she's pretty much always like that. Who's Kaitlyn?"

"My stepsister."

"Uh," Josephine nodded almost knowingly, "that explains it." She muttered to herself, but Andrea overheard.

"That explains what?"

"I think she was talking about you in the cafeteria. She kept looking over at you and laughing." Josephine explained.

"Of course she was." Andrea released a short, throaty laugh.

"I'm up there." Josephine gestured towards a long flight of stairs. "You're on your own from here."

"But, how am I supposed to find…?"

"Your room is in the next building, second floor. Shouldn't be too hard to find." Josephine read Andrea's mind. "I really gotta go Andy." She started to make her way up.

"But…"

"Don't stress." Josephine practically yelled.

"Shit." Andrea hissed to herself before pacing towards the exit.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Sorry this one took a little longer, I've been sick. Anyway, enjoy. Read and review if you wish.  
**

* * *

**Chapter 4.**

Surprised by her own energy, Andrea practically ran to the building that Josephine had told her to go to and entered to find that it was practically empty, with the exception of a few students hurrying up the stairs.

Glimpsing at her watch and doing a double take, Andrea saw that it was now '8:29', so she paced up to the second floor as fast as she could.

When she reached the top of the stairs, she found that there was a hallway straight down, in front of the stairway, and two long hallways on the left and right.

_'Where the hell am I going?'_ She pondered as she searched through her bag and pulled out her map.

Thinking she knew where to go, Andrea veered to the right, only to collide firmly into a solid body, causing her to drop to the cold ground with a thud.

_'I gotta stop doing that.'_ Andrea thought before promptly lifting her head up.

A tall black man, dressed head to toe in green, stood still and unmoved as he stared down at Andrea with a hint of disdain.

Andrea hastily stood up, wiping any dust off of her skirt as she did. "S-sorry." She stammered as her cheeks flushed red. "Uh, sir?" Her eyebrows knitted as she wondered if she was supposed to call him that.

He held his hands on his hips as seemed to examine her before speaking. "Aren'tchu late for class, Miss?" He grunted.

"Oh, right." Andrea jolted out of her daze, and stepped past the tall man, ready to make a run for it, then paused. "Um… Zimmerman's room is down that way right?" She pointed down the right side hallway.

The man appeared deep in thought for a moment, and then signaled towards opposite direction.

Andrea furrowed her eyebrows and glanced back down at her map. "Wha…?" She wondered aloud as she scanned over the wrinkled piece of paper when she realized that she was looking at it upside-down.

"Idiot." Andrea groaned self-deridingly. She then turned back to the man, who had been standing still that whole time giving her questionable looks. "Uh, thanks." She gave him a weak salute and almost skidded on the shiny timber floors as she rushed for the left-hand side hallway.

"I'm really not a morning person." She huffed.

* * *

Alex Stone could barely keep his eyes open as Mr Zimmerman wrote up a bunch of random equations on the whiteboard.

Major Payne was preparing the squad for the Virginia Military Games, which were being redone after officials caved in to parent and staff complaints from rival schools, that Madison Preparatory should have been disqualified and should never have been awarded with the trophy.

Major Payne had almost gone back to his old ways, minus the maliciousness and head shaving, and he was making sure that the squad trained harder than ever before; he wanted them to prove to the other schools that they deserved that trophy.

As he tried to concentrate on what was on the board, Alex's mind went back to the girl that he bumped into that morning. It was a fleeting moment, but he couldn't let it go. He'd even made the mistake of mentioning the encounter to his fellow cadet Deak Williams, who'd instantly just laughed it off.

Just as he shook the image from his mind and went back to writing down notes, Alex jerked slightly when the door at the front of the class slammed shut and he looked up to see the very girl he tried to shake from his mind.

Alex elbowed Deak, who had been copying notes beside him. When Deak peered up, Alex nodded towards the door.

After glancing at the girl for a moment, Deak looked back at Alex and, without saying anything, shook his head and chuckled before going back to trying to figure out the equations.

The girl was red faced and puffing as she swept her long, slightly frizzed, ash brown hair over to her left side. She checked her watch quickly and cringed before looking at the teacher.

"Uh," she stood at the door as she tried to catch her breath, "is this math? Are you Zimmerman?"

"It is." Mr Zimmerman grunted as he finished writing the last equation. "I am, and you're late."

"I'm new." The girl muttered. "I had trouble finding my way through the maze." She joked.

Pursing his lips, the stocky, balding man ambled over to his desk and glanced down at a piece of paper. "Class this is Andrea Farley." He apathetically presented the new student. "Don't be late again." He barked. "Now take a seat."

Andrea sneered and silently mimicked what her new Math teacher had said as she made her way to a seat in the front row. She pulled her books out of her bag and then sat back as Mr Zimmerman began to ramble on.

Feeling a headache coming along, Andrea closed her eyes and rubbed her temples, only to be startled when Zimmerman cleared his throat. She opened her eyes to see her new teacher standing right in front of her with his hands on his wide hips.

"Miss Farley." Zimmerman drawled from the front of the class.

Andrea raised her eyebrows. "Yes?"

"Since you were late," a smug look appeared on Zimmerman's face, "you get the honour of solving the first three equations on the board."

Andrea slowly peaked around Zimmerman to view the board, her tired eyes went in and out of focus as she struggled to read any of the equations from where she sat.

"Uh, no, thanks." She said, shaking her head instantly.

"I wasn't asking." Zimmerman tried to hand a black marker to Andrea.

Andrea let out a cynical laugh. "Come on." Her voice rose as she spoke. "It's my first day. Can't you cut me some slack?"

"Just do it." Zimmerman ordered. "Or serve detention during lunch for being late."

The petite brunette looked at the board again and took a deep breath. "Just pick someone else. I'm just gonna get them all wrong anyway."

"Fine." Zimmerman barked. "I'll see you in detention. I'm writing you up as well."

'_What a dick.'_ Andrea rolled her eyes and buried her head in her arms. _'It's gonna be a long day.'_

* * *

"I don't know how I've survived this whole day." Andrea whined, as she strolled, with Josephine, Charlie and Sydney, to the final class of the day. "Do you think I could get away with skipping a class on my first day so I can sleep?"

"You could probably get away with sleeping in the lab." Said Sydney. "We're dissecting frogs. You could just pretend to faint or something, and then fall asleep." She joked.

"I don't think I'd have to pretend to faint." Andrea recoiled at the thought of studying a dead frog's innards.

They entered the laboratory to find a tall, slim man with a comb over preparing trays of frogs for the students. Andrea assumed he was Mr Von Steffen, which is the name she had on her timetable.

Before she could sit down with Josephine, Mr Von Steffen stopped Andrea when he called her last name.

"Uh, both Farleys, I mean." He corrected himself as he looked back and forth between Andrea and Kaitlyn, who was seated next to a tall brunette in the second last row. "Since lab partners have already been assigned for everyone else, you'll have to partner up with each other."

"You're kidding, right?" Andrea groaned. "Can't I just work by myself?" She begged.

"I'm afraid not." Von Steffen shrugged apathetically.

Josephine gave Andrea a sympathetic look before she went to sit down with her respective lab partner.

Andrea rolled her eyes and took her time to walk towards Kaitlyn. "Well, looks like I'm gonna fail this class too." She mumbled as tossed her bag on the desk, before sitting and slouching over it.

"You don't need my help for that though do you?" Kaitlyn muttered as she pulled out a book from her beige schoolbag. Andrea caught her side-eyeing the group of boys sat at the table behind them, whose noise level grew as they chatted away.

"Do you mind toning it down a little?" The blonde stepsister bossily asked the talkative classmates behind her. "Thanks." She chimed without waiting for the boys to reply.

Andrea glanced over her shoulder and straightened up when she found the boy she had collided with that morning sitting right behind her.

A dark skinned boy sat to his left, and a short, plump boy stood next to a pale, freckle-faced boy against the edge of the bench before they moved to sit at the next table over.

"Hi." Andrea uttered breathlessly to the blue-eyed boy, cringing internally a second later. "Uh, sorry about her." She gestured to Kaitlyn. "She, uh- she used to be kept on a leash at home. I don't think she knows how to behave in public." She smiled shyly.

Kaitlyn scoffed and her eyes narrowed as the boys snickered. "Excuse me? Look who's talking, anyway." She hissed.

"Uh, no, that's fine." The boy behind her replied, smiling back. "They were getting excited about dissecting frogs, it was getting a little weird." He referred to the boys at the table next to theirs.

Andrea let out a small chuckle and turned back around to her desk just as Von Steffen laid down a steel tray containing a dead frog, along with two pairs of disposable gloves and two scalpels.

"Ew." Kaitlyn clamped a hand over her mouth. "Get that away from me." She used a pen to push the tray closer to Andrea's side.

Andrea herself winced in disgust from the look, and smell, of the lifeless amphibian, which was split cleanly right down its chest.

She had to turn away, and, when she did, her brown eyes locked with the boy's blue ones once again.

"I'm Alex, by the way." He grinned sheepishly and extended his hand.

"Andrea." Returning his contagious smile, Andrea shook his hand. "But most people just call me Andy. It's up to you though, I…" She managed to stop herself before she started to blather, and as she felt her cheeks getting warmer.

"Andrea," Kaitlyn snapped, causing Andrea to jump, "can you at least pretend to focus? I don't wanna get in trouble because of you."

"Are you two sisters?" Alex asked before Andrea could focus back on her work. His thick eyebrows pinched in confusion as he looked back and forth between the bickering stepsisters.

"Fortunately not." Said Andrea with a smile. "We're stepsisters… Maybe if we were related she'd be less of a bitch." She remarked quickly, before turning her attention back to the frog.

"Here," Kaitlyn forced a scalpel into Andrea's hand, "I don't wanna be too close to that thing. Make yourself useful." She ordered and placed an A4 diagram of a frog in the middle of the desk.

_'That's a big maybe.'_ Andrea thought to herself, as she set the scalpel down so that she could put gloves on.

"What am I supposed to be doing exactly?" She glanced down at the diagram as she struggled to get the second latex glove on.

"Read the instructions." Kaitlyn huffed and pointed to the top of the page. "Identify and label each organ," she read aloud, "describe what it looks like and what it's function is."

"I didn't know you could read." Andrea quipped, resulting in a glare from Kaitlyn.

Before Kaitlyn could say anything back, Andrea picked the scalpel back up and started poking at the frog's guts.

"Okaay… I'm pretty sure these are the lungs." She prodded at each organ as she called out. "That's the liver, the stomach, small intest…" She halted and looked up to see Kaitlyn examining her nail beds. "Shouldn't you be writing this down?"

"You're the one with the knife." Kaitlyn replied.

Andrea's jaw dropped slightly. "You won't do the gross part," she ranted, "so you should be the one writing this shit down."

"I don't wanna write anything down in case you're wrong." Said Kaitlyn. "Which you probably are."

"Well, then, why don't you have a look at it, smartass?" Andrea tried to hand the tiny knife over to Kaitlyn.

"No. You do it." Kaitlyn pushed Andrea's hand away. "It's so gross."

"Then write down what I said." Andrea ordered.

Kaitlyn puffed and pulled the diagram closer to her. "What is it you said again?" She asked before picking her pen up. "I wasn't paying attention the first time."

Andrea grunted. "Y'know… I've always been curious about how much damage this little knife can do." She examined the scalpel as she pressed the sharp end into the desk.

"Is that a threat?" Kaitlyn gasped. "Sir! Andrea threatened me!"

Mr Von Steffen's head instantly shot up from the textbook he had been reading, and the entire class turned to look at Andrea.

Andrea's jaw dropped. "What? No, I…"

"Farley!" Von Steffen bellowed across the room. "Come here."

"Sir, I…" Andrea struggled to explain herself. "It was an empty threat. I wasn't going to…"

"Miss Farley, come here!" The biology teacher repeated and beckoned Andrea to the front and grabbed a small piece of paper out of his desk. "Bring your bag." He demanded hastily before Andrea could leave her desk.

Andrea took her gloves off and grabbed her bag before standing up, glowering at Kaitlyn as she did.

"Have fun." Said Kaitlyn, with a ridiculing smile gracing her face.

Andrea took a step and then paused to look back at Kaitlyn. "Have fun being alone with Kermit." She gestured towards the dismembered frog and mocked Kaitlyn's smile before pacing to the front.

When Andrea got to Von Steffen, he handed her a folded up note.

"Take that to the councillor's office." He instructed, and with that Andrea was out the door.

* * *

'_Way to go Andy.'_ Andrea mentally derided herself as she searched for the councillor's office. _'It's your first day. This has to be some kinda record or something.'_

It took a few rechecks of her map for Andrea to find the councillor's office, which was next to the principal's office. Sighing, Andrea rapped door with her knuckle and waited.

"It's open." The feminine voice of Miss Walburn called from inside and Andrea slowly opened the door.

Miss Walburn glanced up and grinned from her paperwork. "Hello, Andrea." She greeted the student. "It's Andrea, right? How's your first day been?"

Andrea shrugged and handed over the note. "You tell me…"

The councillor's smile slowly vanished as she read whatever Von Steffen had written.

"Look," Andrea leapt forward, "I wasn't going to do anything." She tried to reassure the seemingly worried councillor. "We're stepsisters; empty threats are, like, part of our job description, or something…"

"Have a seat, Andrea." Miss Walburn said slowly.

The brunette student sighed and sunk into a leather chair, dropping her bag onto the floor with a thud.

Miss Walburn stared intently at Andrea, for a moment, as though she was studying the troubled student.

"The secretary, Mrs Hughes, told me she spoke to your father before you moved here." She stated, resulting in a huff from Andrea. "He, uh- he said, or _warned_, if you will, that you might be trouble."

"I… I don't know what to tell you…" Andrea raised her eyebrows as she retorted. "And I don't know what you're trying to tell me either."

"I'm not here to judge, okay?" Walburn tried her best to keep Andrea calm. "I would just like to get to the bottom of why you're like this. I'm sure that your father would too."

"There's no getting to the bottom of anything." Andrea leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms. "This is just the way I am."

"But there must be a reason, deep inside, why you're acting out?" Said the councillor.

"What are you a psychologist or something?" Andrea's voice rose in pitch before she took a deep breath. "Look, I just need some food and sleep. It's been a long day."

With that the final bell of the day rang and, without saying anything, Andrea pursed her lips and gawked at Miss Walburn.

"Yes, you can go." Said Miss Walburn, and Andrea immediately rose to her feet to hurry out the door.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5.**

It was exactly ten minutes to four o'clock and Major Payne was just about ready to get up and leave his office when he heard the all too familiar clicking of Emily Walburn's heels.

With a huff, the Major slowly leaned back in his chair and waited as the clicking quickly drew closer.

A toothy, almost too innocent, smile graced Miss Walburn's face the moment she entered. "Benson." She chimed, causing Major Payne to knowingly stiffen his back.

She wanted something.

"I know you're in a rush. I'm not going to be long, I promise." Said Major Payne's partner.

Payne took another deep breath and gave her a small, reluctant nod. "Proceed."

"So…" Miss Walburn sunk into a chair in front of the Major's desk and appeared to have some difficulty in getting out what she wanted to say. "I, uh, I just had an interesting little discussion with one of the new students, Andrea Farley; she was sent to my office for-"

"Threatening her stepsister with a knife." Payne leisurely finished his partner's sentence, evidently surprising her. "Word gets around quick." He added before Miss Walburn could say anything. "What about it?" He asked apprehensively.

"Well..." Miss Walburn sighed. "I had a little read of her file; this girl seems to have a track record for getting into trouble." She rambled on. "I read that her parents got divorced not long ago, and her father remarried not long after. I think this girl may be acting out or something-"

"What's your point?" Payne interrupted again, as he grew more and more suspicious, and impatient, by the second.

"My point is…" Another long sigh escaped the school councillor's mouth. "Remember how you and I were supposed to be partners in helping these kids?" She stood up and leaned over Payne's desk to look him in the eye, giving him her best puppy dog eyes. "What do you think of putting Andrea Farley on the squad?"

Payne paused for a moment, seemingly deep in thought. "Negative." He answered almost immediately.

Miss Walburn huffed and swiftly stood straight back up. "Why not?"

"Andrea Farley is a girl." Payne drawled.

"So?" Miss Walburn glowered at the Major as she crossed her arms.

"So…" Payne opened and closed his lips like a fish as he struggled to clarify. "So, there are _no girls_ on the squad." He said quickly.

"You have a six year old on the squad," Miss Walburn referred to Cadet Kevin 'Tiger' Dunne, "you used to have a blind kid, before his parents pulled him out after you shaved his seeing-eye dog…" She rolled her eyes, as Payne chuckled to himself over that particular memory. "Would it really be that much of a stretch to have a girl on the squad?"

"The Virginia Military Games are in just a couple of weeks…" Payne came up with another excuse. "Them boys have been training-"

"Look, I'm not saying to have her compete or anything." Walburn huffed and leaned over his desk once more. "You could just… give her the same drills that you give the boys. If she gets out of line, treat her the same way that you would treat the boys when they get out of line, minus the head-shaving of course…" She added. "I mean, just think about how much those boys have improved under your watch."

"So, you want me to give this girl an attitude adjustment?" Payne pondered aloud.

Miss Walburn seemed slightly tentative as she nodded. "Well, yeah. I guess you could put it that way." She mumbled. "It's just a suggestion anyway. Can you at least think about it?"

"Okay." Payne grunted as he stood up and smoothed out his shirt. "I'll think about it." He repeated and left his office before the councillor could get another word in. 

* * *

_**One week later**_

A somewhat over-dramatic fabrication of what happened between Andrea and Kaitlyn had made it's way around the school, and just over a week later Andrea seemed to get a reputation as being some sort of crazy knife wielding maniac.

As she grabbed some lunch and made her way to the lunchroom, Andrea couldn't help but feel as though some of the students were talking about her, especially when they sniggered amongst themselves.

Unable to find any of her friends, Andrea plumped down at the first empty table she found.

As she was about to dig into her mashed potato, Andrea caught the eye of Alex Stone, who glimpsed back at her from the very back table, and she hastily looked away as she felt a blush creep to her cheeks.

While she ate, Andrea felt a presence loom around her but didn't think to look, when a feminine throat cleared from right behind her. She glanced over her shoulder to find Kaitlyn and Abbey Skelton standing there, along with about five other girls.

"Can I help you?" Andrea asked almost rhetorically, smirking as she did.

"You're sitting at our table." Kaitlyn remarked.

Andrea furrowed her eyebrows and laughed to herself. "Well, no one's stopping you from sitting here." She looked around at the empty seats. "There's plenty of room left." She said before she spread some butter on her bread roll.

"Let me repeat what she just told you." Said Abbey, smiling sardonically. "This is _our _table. Move." She ordered.

"No," Andrea licked the left over butter off of her plastic knife, "I'm quite comfortable sitting here. Thanks." She smirked.

"Listen you little wretch…" Abbey propped her hands on the edge of the table next to Andrea.

"Wretch?" Andrea tried to hold in her laughter. "I've never actually heard that one before." She said honestly.

Andrea scrutinized the girls for a moment and huffed. "Jesus Christ. Fine." She stood up and grabbed her tray. "I can't imagine what you're like when you have an _actual_ problem."

Making a habit of it, Andrea cut to her left too quickly only to collide into Kaitlyn, causing her tray of food to flip and splatter onto her uniform, as well as the floor.

Kaitlyn and her new friends snickered as Andrea tried to get the mashed potato and blackcurrant juice out of her white shirt.

"Maybe you should've had water instead." Kaitlyn mocked her stepsister.

Andrea found herself breathing heavily and her jaw clenched as she kept her eyes to the ground. It took a good minute or so for the brunette to regain herself.

"Yeah," Andrea sighed, "you're probably right." She attempted to get butter out of her skirt before finally looking up. "It's a good thing you did though." She grabbed the cup of water off of Kaitlyn's tray and poured its contents over her stepsister's blonde hair.

Kaitlyn shivered as the icy liquid made its way down the back of her neck before she let out a shriek. All of a sudden the whole lunchroom went quiet and all eyes were on the stepsisters.

"What happened to you was an accident." Kaitlyn hissed. "It's not my fault you're so clumsy." She put her tray down onto the table and placed her hand around a small bowl.

"Well, it's not my fault that you're a b..." Andrea was cut short when Kaitlyn dispensed the bowl of plain yogurt over her hair. Students around them gasped and tried their best to hold in their sniggering.

Andrea wiped the yogurt from her face as her chest heaved rapidly and, without much thinking, she pounced forward and tackled Kaitlyn to the ground, resulting in cheers from the students around them.

"Get… off me!" Kaitlyn managed to push Andrea off of her and both girls stood back up. "What… the hell… is wrong with you?" She panted.

"Maybe if you just stay away from me, nothing would be wrong with me." Andrea retorted, while finger-combing the yogurt out of her hair.

"Ha! Doubt it." Kaitlyn snapped.

Letting out a huge puff, Andrea picked up a large red apple from Kaitlyn's tray before pelting it towards the blonde's head. Only Kaitlyn managed to duck and the apple smacked straight into the temple of Major Payne, who had virtually appeared out of nowhere.

Andrea gasped, cupping her hands over her mouth and her eyes widened in shock. "Sorry." She mumbled through her hands.

Payne lifted one eyebrow as he observed the peculiar scene in front of him. "Grab a towel, clean yourselves up," he spoke slowly, "and meet me in Miss Walburn's office."

"Both of us?" Kaitlyn whined when Payne held his hand up.

"Both of you." Payne simply said, before marching out of the lunchroom. 

* * *

Andrea had gotten most of the yogurt out of her hair, but she'd just about given up on getting the purple juice stain out of her white shirt and the mashed potato had stuck and turned crispy just under her right-sided pocket.

She was now sitting, arms crossed, outside of Miss Walburn's office as the school councillor and Major Payne spoke to Kaitlyn.

After almost ten minutes, the door opened and Kaitlyn came out with a smirk on her face before she paced off back to lunch. Both Miss Walburn and Major Payne followed after the blonde stepsister, but, instead of smirks, they both had stern looks on their faces.

"Andrea," Miss Walburn hesitated for a moment, "we're gonna need you to go upstairs and pack your stuff."

Andrea's jaw slightly dropped. "Am I being expelled?" She asked worriedly, eyebrows drawn together as she spoke.

"Oh, no…" the school councillor let out a quiet laugh, "No, you're not being expelled. Just… go have a quick shower and pack. Meet us back down here when you're done."

"All right…" Andrea said under her breath and got up slowly. "What's happening with Kaitlyn though?" She questioned once she straightened up.

"She's getting detention for two weeks." Walburn answered.

"That's it?" Andrea tried to argue. "Don't you see how I look compared to…?"

"Go!" Major Payne barked, causing Andrea to jerk and rush to her dorm room. 

* * *

Doing exactly as she was told, Andrea took a quick shower and packed her belongings in a duffle before heading back to Miss Walburn and the Major. They all then took a hike down to a barracks, which was located in a part of the school that Andrea didn't even know existed.

'_What the hell is going on?' _Andrea grew anxious.

They all entered the barracks and were greeted by the boys of the school's ROTC program, including one Alex Stone, who looked at Andrea, with his eyebrows furrowed, as she scrutinized the inside of the tin shed-like building and grimaced slightly at her surroundings.

"Maggots!" Major Payne boomed, startling Andrea again.

The boys ceased all conversation and gave the Major their full attention, although Andrea couldn't help but feel some eyes were on her.

Payne seemed to waver as he scanned the room. "Say hello to the newest member of the squad." He said, and, realising where this was going, Andrea's eyes widened. "Andrea Farley."


End file.
